Connect with us

INTERNACIONAL

French right-wing National Rally party HQ raided by police in ‘harassment operation’

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

The headquarters of the French right-wing National Rally party were raided Wednesday morning in Paris in what its leader is calling a «spectacular and unprecedented» harassment operation. 

Advertisement

«Since 8:50 this morning, the headquarters of the National Rally — including the offices of its leaders — have been the subject of a search carried out by around twenty police officers from the Financial Brigade, armed and wearing bulletproof vests, accompanied by two investigating judges,» National Rally President Jordan Bardella said in a statement. 

«This spectacular and unprecedented operation is clearly part of a new harassment operation. It is a serious attack on pluralism and democratic change,» he added. «Never has an opposition party suffered such relentless attacks under the Fifth Republic.» 

Prosecutors said they are investigating allegations of illegal financing of longtime party leader Marine Le Pen’s 2022 presidential bid, and the party’s European Parliament and French parliamentary campaigns, according to the Associated Press. 

Advertisement

FRENCH RIGHT-WING LEADER MARINE LE PEN FOUND GUILTY OF EMBEZZLING PUBLIC FUNDS, BARRED FROM RUNNING FOR OFFICE 

Marine Le Pen, left, and National Rally president Jordan Bardella during a political meeting on June 2, 2024, in Paris. (AP/Thomas Padilla)

«All emails, documents and accounting records of the leading opposition party have been seized, although we do not yet know the precise grievances underlying them,» Bardella also said. «All we know is that all the files concerning the latest regional, presidential, legislative and European campaigns — that is, all the party’s electoral activity — are now in the hands of the courts.» 

Advertisement

The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement to the AP that searches were carried out at the National Rally’s headquarters, at the headquarters of unidentified companies and at the homes of people leading those companies. 

The searches were prompted by a judicial inquiry opened a year ago into a raft of allegations, including fraud, money laundering and forgery, the prosecutor’s office said. 

The inquiry aims to determine whether Le Pen’s 2022 presidential campaign, and the party’s campaigns for European Parliament in 2024 and French parliamentary elections in 2022, were financed by «illegal loans from individuals for the benefit of the party or National Rally candidates,» the statement said. 

Advertisement

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: AFTERSHOCK FROM A POLITICAL ‘EARTHQUAKE’ AS LE PEN BARRED FROM PRESIDENTIAL RUN IN 2027 

Police officer in Paris, France

A police officer leaves the National Rally headquarters in Paris, France, following the police raids on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP/Michel Euler)

The inquiry is also investigating allegations that the National Rally overbilled for services or billed for fictitious services in order to artificially augment the amount of state aid provided to the party for its electoral campaigns. 

Authorities raided the National Party’s headquarters after Le Pen — runner-up to incumbent President Emmanuel Macron in 2022 — was convicted of embezzlement in April. She and 24 other party officials were accused of having used money intended for European Union parliamentary aides to instead pay staff who worked for the party between 2004 and 2016, violating the 27-nation bloc’s regulations. 

Advertisement
National Rally member of the parliament Laurent Jacobelli

National Rally member of parliament Laurent Jacobelli answers reporters as French police raided the headquarters of the far-right party, seizing documents and accounting records, the party’s leader said on Wednesday, July 9, 2025 in Paris. (AP/Michel Euler)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

The prosecutor’s office said no one has been charged in the latest case, with former party treasurer Wallerand de Saint-Just telling reporters outside the headquarters «We did nothing wrong.″ 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Advertisement


Advertisement
Advertisement

INTERNACIONAL

Nancy Pelosi says sex changes for trans kids is something she’s working for ‘at the national level’

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that sex changes for transgender children is something she’s working for «at the national level.»

Advertisement

Earlier in the day, Pelosi toured the San Francisco VA Medical Center to review health-system upgrades, research initiatives and—according to a press release from her staff—the threat that House Republicans might slash core veterans’ services.

While speaking with reporters, she was asked how her office was responding to pauses to «gender-affirming care» in California.

«That is something I’m working for at the national level, and we are hoping we can have gender-affirming care for our trans kids,» Pelosi said. «It’s a sad thing for us… I don’t know what effect we can have nationally with what we have going on in the White House and in Congress.»

Advertisement

DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told a reporter on Aug. 7, 2025, that she was working at the national level to get sex changes for transgender children. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)

She called the situation «really sad, adding that a transgender-pride flag—five horizontal stripes of light blue, pink and white—hangs outside her office. Pelosi also said several colleagues display the same flag.

Advertisement

She acknowledged that many Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose medical transition for transgender youth.

Still, she is not alone in her stance on sex changes for kids.

CHILDREN’S NATIONAL HOSPITAL IN DC TO END GENDER TRANSITION MEDICAL INTERVENTIONS

Advertisement
Pro-trans protesters in front of Supreme Court

FILE – Protesters for and against sex changes for transgender minors demonstrate outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, 2024, in Washington.  (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Earlier this month, over a dozen officials from Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from blocking access to sex change procedures and treatments for people under the age of 19.

The complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, argues that the Trump administration wants to impose a nationwide ban on sex change procedures by threatening providers with «baseless criminal charges» and investigations.

The lawsuit names President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department as defendants. It challenges Trump’s Jan. 28 executive order barring government support for sex change operations and treatments and two memos by Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate. 

Advertisement

Pelosi’s office told Fox News Digital the Democrat was referring to this lawsuit when she spoke about supporting sex changes for children.

TRUMP’S JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TARGETS DOCTORS, CLINICS WHO PROVIDE SEX CHANGE PROCEDURES TO MINORS

Transgender flag in Washington, D.C.

A protester waves a transgender pride flag outside of the U.S. Supreme Court Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Bondi’s memo directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate and prosecute those who offer sex-change treatments to minors. Shumate’s memo directs prosecutors to prioritize investigations against doctors, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies that perform such procedures. 

Advertisement

In July, Kaiser Permanente announced that it would pause sex change surgeries for patients under 19 beginning Aug. 29 in response to the Trump administration’s efforts on the matter. The same month, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shuttered its Center for Trans Youth Health and Development, one of the nation’s largest clinics for transgender young people.

The Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., also announced that it will no longer provide gender transition-related medical interventions. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Advertisement

Many states have laws restricting or banning sex change surgeries for children. The states named in the lawsuit – California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington D.C., and Wisconsin. – allow such procedures.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Advertisement

nancy pelosi,legislation,washington dc,republicans

Advertisement
Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Israel Security Cabinet approves plan to occupy Gaza City

Published

on


NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Israel’s Security Cabinet early Friday approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, marking an escalation in Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas.

Advertisement

The announcement comes after an all-night meeting of the security cabinet, following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement that Israel planned to retake control over the entire territory and eventually hand it off to friendly Arab forces opposed to Hamas. 

Israel’s Security Cabinet early Friday approved a plan to occupy Gaza City, marking an escalation in the nearly two-year war between Israel and Hamas. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Israel has bombarded Gaza City repeatedly since Oct. 7, 2023 in addition to carrying out numerous raids. Today, it is one of the few areas of Gaza that hasn’t been turned into an Israeli buffer zone or placed under evacuation orders.

Advertisement

This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 



israel,middle east,world,conflicts

Continue Reading

INTERNACIONAL

Fuertes críticas y abucheos al presidente Arce y su vice en el Congreso en el acto por el Bicentenario en Bolivia

Published

on



A poco más de una semana para las elecciones nacionales con dos candidatos de derecha como favoritos, los legisladores bolivianos abuchearon al vicepresidente y criticaron a los gritos la política económica del presidente Luis Arce, quien en los actos por el Bicentenario hizo un discurso de autoelogio y sin autocríticas en medio de una crisis nacional que paraliza a Bolivia.

El vicepresidente de Bolivia, David Choquehuanca, desató una nueva polémica en medio del clima electoral rumbo a los comicios del 17 de agosto, tras afirmar en su mensaje por los 200 años de la fundación política del país que en el Altiplano “persiste el caudillismo”, lo que alimenta el autoritarismo de los líderes partidarios y el fanatismo de sus seguidores.

Advertisement

“¡Ya se van, ya se van!”, le gritaron en su réplica a Choquehuanca desde los palcos en medio de su discurso en el que también habló de manipulación electoral.

Las elecciones se presentan muy desfavorables para el oficialismo ya que ninguno de los tres candidatos cercanos a sus filas figuran con posibilidades de pasar a la segunda vuelta. Al contrario, el empresario de derecha Samuel Doria Median lidera todos los sondeos (entre 20 y 22% de votos) seguido de cerca por el ex presidente conservador, Jorge Tuto Quiroga. Los otros postulantes se hallan muy lejos por debajo del 10%.

Durante la sesión de honor de la Asamblea Legislativa Plurinacional en la Casa de la Libertad de Sucre, Choquehuanca —que concluirá su mandato el 8 de noviembre junto al presidente s Arce— sostuvo que el Estado Plurinacional representa un sistema nuevo de autogobierno, pero reconoció que aún enfrenta serias limitaciones en un escenario político complejo y polarizado.

Advertisement

“Estamos en un escenario preelectoral donde se fabrican encuestas y se manipulan datos de la realidad, mientras el pueblo queda fracturado sin haber elegido”, denunció. Choquehuanca insistió en que el país necesita unidad, acuerdos y comprensión de los errores. “Para unos, la solución será seguir peleando; otros elegirán la fuga ante promesas incumplidas”, reflexionó, en lo que varios analistas interpretan como una crítica velada a las fracturas internas del Movimiento Al Socialismo (MAS), partido al que pertenece y que está en el poder desde hace 20 años.

El discurso de Choquehuanca se suma a la controversia generada por la intervención del presidente Arce, quien también fue cuestionado por evitar la autocrítica y centrarse solo en la defensa del llamado “proceso de cambio” y sus 20 años de reformas, como la nacionalización de los hidrocarburos o la industrialización con sustitución de importaciones. Sin embargo, para los economistas Gonzalo Chávez y Armando Ortuño, el mandatario desaprovechó una ocasión histórica para hablarle al país con visión de futuro, reconocer la crisis y llamar a la unidad nacional.

“Fue un discurso para la autocomplacencia. Un narcisismo macroeconómico que no abordó lo más grave: filas por pan, gasolina, dólares y empleos. No fue el discurso de los 200 años, fue el de los 20 años del populismo”, opinó Chávez durante un análisis televisivo posterior al mensaje.

Advertisement

Ambos economistas cuestionaron duramente la falta de autocrítica del presidente y su insistencia en atribuir los problemas económicos a factores externos. “El presidente vive en una burbuja ideológica. No reconoce el colapso del sector hidrocarburos, la caída en educación, ni el déficit fiscal crónico. Bolivia dejó de ser una potencia gasífera y ahora importa energía. Esa realidad quedó ausente”, añadió el economista paceño.

Por su parte, Ortuño lamentó la ausencia de un mensaje que inspire unidad y rescate los logros colectivos del país en dos siglos de historia. “Era una oportunidad para mirar al país como un proyecto común, hablar de nuestras potencialidades, no solo de las fracturas. No se trataba de defender un modelo, sino de construir un relato que incluya a todos”, reflexionó.

Ambos coincidieron en que, frente a una economía con serios desequilibrios fiscales, cambiarios y de abastecimiento, el presidente optó por minimizar los problemas. “Dijo que la escasez de combustibles es coyuntural, cuando en realidad refleja problemas estructurales acumulados. El próximo gobierno, sea cual sea, tendrá que enfrentarlos”, advirtió Ortuño.

Advertisement

Finalmente, los dos economistas lamentaron que en un momento simbólico como los 200 años de la independencia, el mensaje presidencial haya priorizado una visión polarizante de la historia construida sobre confrontaciones y no sobre acuerdos.

Bolivia,Luis Arce

Advertisement
Continue Reading

LO MAS LEIDO

Tendencias